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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

D'Ann Lindun "Desert Heat"

If you love westerns and romance with a bit of suspense you’ll
love today’s guest author D’Ann Lindun. D’Ann writes for Crimson Romance and
she has this to share with us today.

Meet D’Ann Lindun…

Have you ever
gone on a scavenger hunt? It’s a lot of fun. One time, about fifteen years ago,
my sister and I hosted a party where the scavenger hunt was part of the night’s
events. We each had teams of six women who had to go all over town (it’s a tiny
resort village) and find certain items. I don’t remember what the prize was,
exactly, but it was a huge hit. We talked about it for years.

In my book,
Desert Heat, Mallory James is on a scavenger hunt of sorts…more of a treasure
hunt. Her missing father has died and she has traveled to Mesa, Arizona to try
and find the father she’s searched for all her life.

A petite, graying blond with dark gray eyes, the coroner, didn’t look
like Mallory’s idea of a person who dealt with dead bodies, but she hadn’t met
too many coroners either. The doctor’s
handshake was firm and quick. “Miss
James. It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry to tell you that your father’s
remains are not ready. We’re backlogged
and there’s no way we can get to him until the end of the week.”

“Oh no.” She had hoped to have this over and done with
quickly. “Do you have any idea of what
happened to him yet?”

“Probably heart failure, but
like I said on the phone, I’m not sure.
Something’s bothering me, but I don’t want to comment on it yet. I’ll call you when I have a definitive answer
and his body is ready to be released. We
have some paperwork you need to fill out.
If you’ll follow me?”

Mallory followed the coroner into a second room, an ordinary office
with dark paneling. After she signed a
few papers, Dr. Anson handed over Skeeter’s clothes, a folded paper and a small
vial. “You can take these now. We found these items sewn inside his pant
leg.”

Mallory took the stack with trembling hands. She glanced at the paper. “What is this?”

The doctor shrugged. “Some kind
of map. And the little jar has gold dust
in it.”

“Gold dust? Are you serious?” Mallory shoved her glasses back up her
nose.

“Completely.”

Mallory held the little plastic tube up to the light and examined the
particles inside. Flakes of gold
glittered. “I wonder what this is
worth?”

“Probably not much,” the doctor
said. “I doubt there’s enough there to
even take to an assayer. But I recognize
for what it is.”

“Why on earth would Skeeter
carry around a minuscule amount of gold?”
Mallory rolled it around in her palm.
The glass warmed in her grip. Had
he found one of the lost mines? Her
heart skipped a beat.

Blurb: Desert Heat

Mallory James doesn’t trust men. How could she when her own
father abandoned her twenty-two years ago? Now, when she receives a phone call
from a man claiming to have found the body of her father in the Arizona desert,
Mallory has no way to find out the truth. For closure, she flies to Phoenix to
claim the body.

Mike Malone has more trouble than he knows how to cope with. An
environmental group, the Salt River Protection League has gotten an injunction
that prevents his guest ranch from operating. Tired of the battle, his longtime
girlfriend has left him, and his friends—all depending on him for their
livelihood—are getting desperate. The last thing he needs is the body of desert
rat, Skeeter James, in one of his vacant cabins. And Mike really doesn’t need a
beautiful woman taking his mind off business.

The minute Mallory reaches the deserted guest ranch things seem
odd. Mike’s friends aren’t welcoming, and one in particular, Diana, seems to
want Mallory gone. A vial of gold and half a treasure map are the only legacy
Skeeter leaves. Before she can have the burial, Mallory is lured into the
desert, bucked off a horse sabotaged by a thorn under his saddle blanket and
stalked. Although she is falling for Mike, she can’t love a man she can’t
trust. At first, Mike is skeptical of Mallory’s claims, but as incidents begin
to pile up, he is forced to admit someone is trying to hurt. But how can they
stop what they don’t understand?

Bio:

Falling
in love with romance novels the summer before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never
thought about writing one until many years later when she took a how-to class
at her local college. She was hooked! She began writing and never looked back.
Romance appeals to her because there's just something so satisfying about
writing a book guaranteed to have a happy ending. D’Ann’s particular favorites
usually feature cowboys and the women who love them. This is probably because
she draws inspiration from the area where she lives, Western Colorado, her
husband of twenty-nine years and their daughter. Composites of their small
farm, herd of horses, five Australian shepherds, a Queensland heeler, nine
ducks and cats of every shape and color often show up in her stories!

In college, a group of us had a scavenger hunt where we had to take a picture of the finds--everything from three guys skateboarding with their shirts off to a half-eaten burger--on our phones. The first ones back to 'base', with all the captures on their phone, won. The prize was bragging rights and, um, a rather large amount of a certain foamy beverage. What a neat idea to put a hunt in a book. Exciting! BTW, the guy on your cover is hot.